Lionden Landing

Thanks to our great Scholar in Residence program and author, Gil Marks, I got to take a food tour of Sephardi.  I was not able to attend the Moroccan dinner Shabbos evening.  But we did get to share in the delightful Kiddush. Prep in the kitchen for the weekend.  Kiddush was a tasting menu from Central Asia and the Mediterranean. There was a complete Fleishig menu from each country including dessert.  Our favorites from the meal crossed country lines.  The Georgian Chicken in Walnut Sauce and the Red Pepper Walnut Spread were fantastic.  It is so sad that Ms. G is allergic to walnuts.  I am going to have to try substituting almonds in some of these recipes.  Sunday was the kicker with the "World of Vegetarian Purim".  Rabbi Marks is a very interesting person who shared much more than his recipes with us.  If you want to know more about food than just how to make it I strongly recommend his book, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food...

I finally did it!  I made a six stranded Challah.  My braids are not neat and tidy by any means but I think they turned out pretty good for a first attempt.  This braid makes a much taller loaf than the standard 3 strand which I think looks nicer.  It means I need to make a double batch of dough though which means we have lots more leftover.  Ms. G. noticed the difference immediately and praised my attempts. 

  Froggy picked Fruit cups as her cooking experiment this week.  It was a lesson in knife skills more than anything else.  Froggy started with reading the directions and gathering her materials and ingredients.  I am trying to teach good habits as much as techniques.   We modified the recipe a  bit and I explained to Froggy why.  We used olive oil instead of PAM  Then came the cinnamon sugar.  This showed why it is important to read the recipe thoroughly first.  The recipe said "sprinkle with cinnamon sugar."  Froggy asked how much.  The recipe did not say.  So she had to thin about all the places it was used and deduce how much to use for each side.  Folding it into the muffin tins was tricky but we got it to work.  Froggy set the oven temp but I put them in.  Then it came time for the lesson in knife skills.  This is Froggy's first time using a 'sharp' knife.  She cut the...

Froggy used to bake with me lots when she was a toddler.  As she got older, and more independent, that fell by the wayside.  We are working on correcting that. Today she made Meringue Surprise Kisses from the Kosher By Design Kids cookbook.  She did it all by herself. The book was a gift from Auntie Lisa.  It is specifically written so that children can do it on their own.  Reading the recipe to get ready.  It really helped her to have the complete picture in her head before starting.  Laying out all the supplies and ingredients  Trying to tear the parchment paper. Pouring in the egg whites.  These were all ready separated, leftover from our Shavout ice cream making. Adding the cornstarch. She did level the teaspoon before dumping it in.   Watching the clock, waiting for the whites to form their "stiff peaks"  Preparing the bag for the whipped whites.  This step was a perfect example of bad dir...

I am finally trying my hand at making sour dough.  I used this recipe for the starter.  According to the recipe it needs to grow for two days before I feed it and then it is another 3-5 days before I can try baking a loaf with it. After that things move faster and in theory I will be able to make bread with the starter a couple of times a week. 

These turned out so great when I made them for our afternoon of gaming that I thought it would be fun to try them again with Froggy helping.  I was right.  This recipe is perfect to do with little people because there are so many fun easy steps for them to do all by themselves.  And the treats are just their size.  The bottom layer is cake which Froggy loved "smashing" with the tart maker (wooden thing)   Then the filling is piped in.  We used sweetened cream cheese.  Percision in not critical and Froggy was able to do this just fine.   The last layer is whipped cream.  We shaved chocolate on top for decoration.  Froggy was able to do this easily using my microplane.   All in all the project was a huge success with little mess and a decadent result.  Things got hectic at the end and I forgot to take a picture of the finished product so I borrowed this one to give you the idea.  And here is the recipe . 

We had a little visitor on Friday.  So I took that opportunity to involve them in making our Shabbat dinner. On Thursday I had baked a special experimental dessert, Jelly Bean Cake.  I figured a fun dessert could only get more fun with children decorating it. I turned the frosting and decorating of the cake totally over to them.  I mixed up the icing to the proper consistency and gave each child a bowl with the cake in the middle and they had at it.  We added different instrument first brushes then spoons as they went.  After they frosted I gave them a container of different kinds of sprinkles and they decorated. They had a blast.  A necessary task got accomplished. And I had live entertainment while I worked in the kitchen. 

Froggy and I tried something fun and new in the kitchen this week.  We made pretzel dogs together.  The dough is pretty simple and similar to any other bread dough.  We used this recipe. Once the dough was mixed up,  it rose once in the mixing bowl and then the fun began.     First we divided the dough into 8 equal parts and turned those parts into ropes.  The recipe called for 12 but I could not make 12 equal parts.  Then we wrapped the ropes around the hot dogs.  We are not really hot dog people so I used organic, uncured all beef hot dogs hoping they would be better.   There was some extra dough leftover after we wrapped all the dogs.  So we made regular shaped pretzels.   And then came the special pretzel making part - the hot water bath.  Which is all I thought it was before.  Turns out you need to put baking soda into the boiling water before you bathe your pretzels.  The recipe says to leave ...

This recipe has been a long standing favorite of ours although I have not made it since Froggy joined us. We gave it up for a while because of concerns with iodine and gout but they have since gone the way side. It is inspired by the Fisherman stew recipe in The Best Slow Cooker Cookbook Ever Ingredients 1 can petite diced tomatoes 1 can tomato paste 1 cup vegetable broth 3/4 cup white wine 1 onion chopped fine 1 green pepper chopped fine 3 stalk celery chopped fine 2 tsp crushed garlic spices to taste (1 bay leaf, basil, thyme, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar) 1 lb shrimp 1lb small scallops (if you get the big ones just cut them up) 1 lb Fish steak (you can use halibut/ swordfish/tuna/yellow tail) we are using tilapia this time Directions Put everything except the seafood in the crockpot. Cook on low for 5-6 hrs. Increase the heat to high. Stir in the seafood. Cook for 30 min or until the fish turns white and opaque. It is yummy, easy and healthy - a triple hitter in my book.

This week's tip is also a book review. What works for me this Wednesday is How to Cook without a Book. In a collection of cookbooks, this is the one I go to most often. This book is all about techniques. Instead of looking for a specific recipe that uses the ingredients I want, I decide what kind of food I want and then fidn that technique and customize the concept to what I have. Once I have a technique perfected I no longer refer to the book as much if at all. This book is how I learned to make fritattas which are now a family staple. Today I am experimenting with soup. To find out what works for others, visit Rocks in My Dryer

In honor of Soup Swap day , here is one of our favorite soups Harvest Soup 2 bay leaves 6 sprigs fresh thyme 4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish 1 teaspoon black peppercorns 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 6 leeks, whites only, washed and thinly sliced 1 small onion, thinly sliced 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes 1 pear, such as Bartlett or Anjou , peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch cubes (optional) 10 cups Chicken St ock Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cup milk Wrap bay leaves, fresh thyme, parsley, and black peppercorns in a piece of cheesecloth, and tie into a sachet with kitchen twine. Set aside. Heat butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and onion, and cook until soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic, and cook 2 minutes more. Add...

As almost every parent has at some time, I have been having a real hard time getting veggies into The Froggy. Hence this weeks WFMW. Carrot Pancakes. The froggy loves them and it gets veggies into a child who would not otherwise get them. Here is the recipe: 2 cups pancake mix 1 tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp nutmeg ½ tsp clove 2 eggs 1 cup milk 2 cup shredded carrot In a bowl combine the pancake mix, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. In another bowl, beat eggs and milk. Pour into the dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened. Stir in carrots. Pour pancakes onto griddle. (I make silver dollar size pancakes) Turn when bubbles form on top. Cook until second side is golden. Look for other WFMW tips this week at Rocks in my Dryer .